The Global Ideas Blog

Cowbins: greening the land

Sometimes all it takes is one stroke of genius: a wind-up radio, an open university, a car that runs on electricity and.....painting bins to look like cows. That's right, in Lewisham they've trialled a project called Feed the Cows which painted  large recycling bins to look like cows. Or  as they put it:

"[the partners] have turned ordinary recycling bins into a look-alike herd of cows, set in a look-alike tranquil field, in the heart of the hustle and bustle of New Cross."

Or, as the mayor of Lewisham calls it in his quote, "Moo Cross". Bad puns and mockery aside, though, sometimes the most effective ideas are the simplest. According to this article, the project has increased recycling by 61% in just three months, and Hackney Council are ordering in 200 more....a veritable herd.

Unfortunately, my council prefers the stick to the carrot, and is putting cameras in baked bean tins to tackle persistent waste offenders. Complete madness, of course, but at least it led to the inspired headline in one paper this morning of "Beans Means Fines"....

[thanks to Jake for spotting the cows....]

Zipcar: entering my world

On wet and windy Tuesday mornings, my focus is not always 100% as I wander from bus to tube. But this morning, I was roused from my torpor by the sight of people with ZIPCAR on their jackets in bright green writing. It's always nice when something you write about becomes a reality in your world....and this morning brought back memories of having covered Zipcar and Flexcar in articles on the Global Ideas Bank 7 or 8 years ago. In fact, it seems amazing that it has taken it this long to really hit the UK in any concerted way, but is now a genuinely viable option for Londoners to take advantage of (as well as those of you reading in Boston and Chicago).

Basically you pay an annual fee, and then get charged on an hourly or daily rate on top. Including insurance and everything though, it is cheaper than hiring a car a couple of times a year....though I wonder if there is a scrum around particular time of the year (Christmas). Particularly for the Minis or BMWs ;0)

Also interesting to see how they've split it definitively for personal and business use, the latter being a distinct option for (smaller) companies wishing to retain flexibility but also tick green boxes and not have to adminsiter a company car fleet. Will be interesting to see if it can take off here....

TED / Doors of Perception

Couple of big, hairy interesting events on at present, namely:

- TED 2007; you can read all about it via the TED blog of course. They are bringing together "FIFTY REMARKABLE PEOPLE" (in capitals, so they must be remarkable) who are icons, geniuses and mavericks. They include Edward De Bono, Jeff Skoll, Jaime Lerner, Lawrence Lessig, RIchard Branson and...er.... Tracy Chapman.

Day one wrap; day two wrap....which do sound pretty thought-provoking...

- and the lesser-known Doors of Perception in Delhi; this genuinely looks AMAZING (justified capitals!); there is enough in the participants and their projects to blog about for the rest of the year...so check them out; we will be revisiting several of these projects soon, and have no doubt there will be some interesting conversations coming out of the event (on Worldchanging and elsewhere)